On 1 December the East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority released 100,000 Australian Bass, bred from Snowy River brood stock, into the river as part of its ongoing program to revitalise the fish and fishing population in the area.

The intiative commenced after research in recent years revealed that Australian Bass, while native to the Snowy River, were struggling to successfully breed and were in decline.

After a significant amount of rehabilitation work the river was deemed to be in a suitable state to support the fish in a number of locations and the restocking program began. 

Over 200,000 fish have been released into the river in recent years which continues to provide positive benefits not only to the river but to the local population through increased tourism interest.